Monkey tears off eight-month-old baby's testicles as his mother changes his nappy at a Chinese zoo and EATS one before it can be caught...

Horrifying ordeal: Chinese television shows the infant recovering in hospital with his mother after he had his testicle ripped off by a monkey...

Hello Friends!

A mother watched in horror as a monkey tore off one of her eight-month-old baby's testicles at a Chinese zoo before running off and eating it.

The shocking incident, is understood to have taken place at the Guiyang Qianling Wildlife Park in Guìyáng, the capital of Guizhou province in Southwest China.

The mother was changing the infant's dirty nappy when the animal attacked, ripping off the testicle before dropping it onto the ground.

An old man reportedly picked it up but a monkey then snatched it out of his hand before scampering away and eating it before it could be caught.

A Chinese news reports shows the baby recovering in a hospital bed with his mother looking over him. His injuries are not life threatening.

Monkey numbers at the open zoo have reportedly exploded from around 70 to 500 in recent years with the situation now apparently out of control.

Monkeys are fed by visitors at the Guiyang Qianling Wildlife Park in Guìyáng, Southwest China...

The number of monkeys at the park has exploded from 70 to 500 in the last few years, according to Chinese news reports...

Although they are fed three times a day by keepers, members of the public like to feed the monkeys too and while there are signs warning against doing so, they do not seem to be enforced.

Other footage shows one of the monkeys attacking a little girl, nipping her on the fingers as she reaches over to pet it.

The report mentions that the monthly incidents involving the monkeys at Guiyang, of varying degrees of severity, are running in the hundreds.

Culled from The Daily Mail UK...

xoxo

Simply Cheska...

Eyes on the road! Kendall Jenner learns nothing from sister Kylie's car crash as she films Keek video while behind the wheel...

Clearly not learning from sister Kylie's mistakes! Kendall Jenner posted a Keek video on Friday while she was behind the wheel of her SUV in Calabasas, California...

Hello Friends!

Her younger sister recently crashed her car little more than two weeks after getting her license.

So you would think that Kendall Jenner would have more sense than to film a Keek video while she's behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.

While the star at least appears to be using a hands-free dashboard-mounted device, she takes her eyes off the road numerous times as she grooves to the tunes playing on the stereo.

The stunning brunette appears to making fun of herself in the 27-second clip titled NO LIFE (hi dad), in which she states, 'I have no life!'

Starting off at her family's Calabasas, California home, the model runs down the stairs with her dog, Gabbana, who then proceeds to naughtily run amok in her Mercedes-Benz SUV.

Pimp my ride: The whole Kardashian-Jenner clan have matching black and white Mercedes-Benz SUVs, though Kylie crashed hers just 18 days after getting her license last month...

Bad dog! The star's pet pooch, Gabbana, jumped into the pricey ride before being kicked out so Kendall could go for a drive...

As she hits the open road in her pricey slick black wheels, the teenager mimes along to a blaring hip-hop track as she busts some moves.

She expertly pouts into the camera, swings her hair to the music and gestures with her hands. 

The clip finishes with her declaration before she snuggles up to dad Bruce Jenner, who smiles while chatting on his cell phone.

Work it! The stunning model pouted for the camera and grooved along to the hip-hop tunes blaring from the speakers...

Lamar Odom 'upbeat' as he dines on miso soup... but wife Khloe remains 'in the dark' as to his whereabouts...

Found: Lamar Odom met a friend for a meal at a Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles on Thursday [file picture showing him on August 31]...

Hello Friends!

After recent allegations of drug use and marital problems, one could forgive Lamar Odom for attempting to lay low.

But after reports that he had gone missing the former LA Clippers player finally surfaced on Thursday night.

It has emerged that he was spotted grabbing a bite to eat with a friend at Los Angeles sushi restaurant Octopus in the Downtown area of the city.

According to staff at the eatery, the 33-year-old ordered a light lunch of $7 miso soup, which he hardly touched.

As reported by TMZ.com, the basketball player drank two cups of green tea while ignoring his male companion, choosing instead to chat on his cell phone.

Despite his personal problems, Lamar proved to be a good tipper, leaving a $20 note for the $7 check.

Wearing a T-shirt, shorts and sunglasses, onlookers confirmed he appeared in good health.

According to E! Online, a witness described Odom as 'smiling' and 'very nice and polite,' even holding the door open for another guest as he left the Roosevelt Lofts, which is next to Octopus restaurant.

Light meal: Lamar spent $7 on miso soup and green tea in Japanese restaurant Octopus in Downtown LA...

Marriage trouble? The former Clippers player, pictured here last week, has been dogged by accusations of drug taking and infidelities that have rocked his marriage to 29-year-old reality star Khloe Kardasihan...

Another source, who spoke exclusively to E! Online, said Khloe's husband 'seemed upbeat' last night.

'He was in a good mood and did not seem down at all,' the source said. And while Lamar may have been forgiven for feeling down, 'that was not the case.'

'In fact,' the source continued, 'he even signed a fan's autograph. He was his normal self, nice and polite.'

Us Weekly reported on Thursday that the reality star and her famous family are completely 'out of the loop' when it comes to the NBA player's whereabouts.

According to Radaronline, neither Lamar's sports agent Jeff Schwartz or the lawyer hired by Kris Jenner, Robert Shapiro, know where the sportsman is and haven't spoken to him in the 24 hours since he left rehab.

And Khloe is said to be absolutely 'exhausted' over the ordeal.

Brave face: It has been reported that Khloe - snapped here at Katy Perry's Lobour Day party - has not seen her husband since she allegedly ordered him to go to rehab or risk losing her...

Forbes Special: More Ways To Be Indispensable At Work...PART 2

Add value to every transaction.

Egan says when completing your work, you should always ask yourself: Have I taken the extra step? Has my report/response truly added value to the bottom line of this company?

Hello Friends!

Here are more ways to be singled out amongst your peers as the "Valued Employee" and one who is an Asset to the organization...

Be committed.

“It sounds obvious, and it may even sound easy, but what often truly sets the indispensable workers apart from the replaceable cogs in the machine is a die hard work ethic and commitment to quality,” Friedman says. “If you are the best at what you do, you are likely to be the last one to go.”

Stay current with technology and trends.

Technology and industry trends are constantly changing so if you are continually learning new technologies and keeping up with trends, you will continue to be an invaluable asset to your company, Teach says. “If you’re not already, you will become the go-to person on these matters which makes your knowledge and skills even more valuable compared to those who aren’t staying current.”

Have a good attitude.

“Again, it might sound obvious, but it’s easy to find people who don’t appreciate having a job at all, and much harder to find people who make the office a pleasant place to come,” Friedman says. “Everyone likes working with people who seem like they are happy to be there, and if choosing between two employees who are equally good at their jobs, a manager is more apt to axe the grumpy one.”

Continually improve your oral and written communication skills.

Many people don’t like to speak publicly–but for those who do, it can lead to great opportunities, Teach says. It’s also hard to find employees with excellent written skills, especially in the world of texting and Twitter–so if you are a great writer, you will definitely have an advantage over others, he says.

Always try to offer solutions.

You know that one thing that everyone at work always complains about? It might be the poorly designed e-commerce platform, the way the warehouse is organized, or the computer system that has some really whacky glitches. Whatever it is–instead of commiserating, find a way to fix it (or, at least, a way to consistently work around it), Friedman says. “You don’t necessarily have to have expertise in a hard skill such as creating pivot tables in Excel, but if you’re the only one who can get the printer to stop eating paper, you might find yourself with a leg up.”

Be consistently reliable and trustworthy.

These are traits that employers value today, because of too many incidences of unreliability and mistrust, Egan says.

Keep in mind that no one is truly indispensable.

If you leave, as long as the organization is at least slightly functional, it will find a way to survive without you, Robbins says. “The strategies above, however, will give you a chance at being perceived as indispensable, which is what you really care about.”

P.S. Truth must be told...In as much as we put in all of our very best, no one can really in practice, be indispensable...

Culled from Forbes Magazine...

xoxo

Simply Cheska...

Forbes Special: 17 Ways To Be Indispensable At Work... PART 1

Hello Friends!

Job security is a serious concern for so many employees in today’s workforce. Knowing that so many positions are being outsourced, cut, or revamped, for instance, makes it especially difficult to believe that anybody’s job is completely safe, says Rita Friedman, a Philadelphia-based career coach and resume writer. “But in any workplace, you’ll still find people who are absolutely indispensable – that is to say that productivity would grind to a halt if they were suddenly no longer there. And it’s not just C-level executives who hold this distinction; it could be an employee at any level in any department of the organization.”

“Being indispensable at work means that your supervisors count on you so much that without you, the productivity of your department might suffer, or at least that’s the perception,” adds Andy Teach, author of From Graduation to Corporation, and host of the YouTube channel FromGradToCorp. “In the minds of your supervisors and perhaps your co-workers, you are essential to the overall success of the department or even the company. Their feeling is that you are a necessary and valued part of the machine. They depend on you.”

Stever Robbins, an executive and personal coach and top 10 business podcaster, agrees. When you’re indispensable, some part of the company cannot function without you, he says. “You may have knowledge that is unique to you, a position in the organization that is unique to you, or a skill that is unique to you.”

Some people mistake indispensable for irreplaceable, says Amy Hoover, president of Talent Zoo–but they’re not the same thing. “As they say, everyone can be replaced. But to be indispensable means that you are so good and efficient at your job, that your boss and co-workers don’t want to imagine replacing you,” she says. “You are the go-to person they count on; the one who simply gets things done.”

Hoover says if you are ambitious or take pride in your work, you should “absolutely strive to be indispensable.” There is a great feeling of satisfaction in a job well done and knowing that you’re making an impact. “In this day and age when employee job satisfaction is nearly at an all-time low, it’s a great goal to have.”

Teach agrees. “Being indispensable can help your morale because you’re going to enjoy your job more knowing how valuable you are to the company,” he says. “It not only makes you feel that you’re contributing to something greater than yourself, but it also provides you with validation of what you do and who you are.”

Being indispensable also puts you in a comfort zone because you won’t have to worry as much about losing your job, “which is one less stress you won’t have to endure,” he adds. “You have greater job security—and will (hopefully) be the last one to go if your department or company is forced to make layoffs.”

Other benefits of being indispensable at work: You’re more likely to get a raise or promotion; and you may be sought out for special projects, opinions, and direction, says Marsha Egan, a certified workplace productivity and business leader coach, and chief executive of The Egan Group, Inc.

Want to be indispensable to your employer? Here’s how:

Do work that matters, not work that's easy.

Most employees can find tasks at work to stay busy, pass the time, and fly under the radar of the boss, Hoover says. “To become indispensable, dig deeper and really think about the work that matters to the company and its success. Tackle those projects first.”

Agony of Cambridge graduate as court rules her twins must live with estranged husband in Vienna because 'he is a better parent'...

Happier times: Beth and Michael Schlesinger on their wedding day...


Hello Friends!

Eight months after meeting and falling in love with an Austrian doctor, Cambridge graduate Beth Schlesinger abandoned her career and moved to Vienna to marry him.

When the marriage began to go wrong, she agreed to try to patch things up by starting a family and they had twin sons.

But rows over the children drove them further apart – and now she has lost custody of the four-year-old boys after an Austrian court ruled that her husband is a better parent.

Last night Mrs Schlesinger, 29, said she feels marooned in a foreign country and added: ‘I don’t know how a court can believe it is better for such young children to be with their father instead of their mother.

‘It is breaking my heart being allowed to see them for just a few hours a week.’

Mrs Schlesinger, a solicitor’s daughter from Manchester, gave up her place on a master’s course at a New York university after she fell in love with society doctor Michael Schlesinger.

Aged 22, she moved to Vienna to marry him despite protests from her parents and being unable to speak any German.

But, she said, the relationship began to wane after only a week. 

She claims he became so controlling he would not even let her go to the toilet at night.

After they separated and started a custody battle over the children, Dr Schlesinger, 33, unsuccessfully attempted to have his wife sectioned.

His claims that she had mental illness were dismissed in court, but an Austrian judge still took the rare step of giving him sole custody of the twins.

Mrs Schlesinger has visitation rights but can see her sons Samuel and Benjamin for only 20 hours a fortnight.

She has accused the court of unfairly favouring her ‘well-connected’ husband and has begun an appeal with the Austrian high court.

And Graham Stringer, Labour MP for Blackley and Broughton in Manchester, has raised concerns with the Austrian ambassador about the way the case was handled.

The twins: A photograph taken of Samuel and Benjamin by Beth before she left her estranged husband in 2010...

Amazing!!! In the last 20 years, I've spent an hour daily reading dictionaries –Obahiagbon...

Patrick Obahiagbon...

Hello Friends!

Patrick Obahiagbon, the Chief of Staff to the Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, in this interview with GBENRO ADEOYE, talks about his controversial way of speaking and why he chooses to speak that way

What is your educational background?

I am by the grace of the celestial choir, a legal practitioner, a public administrator, an international historian and a diplomat. I earned a degree in Law and was called to the Nigerian Bar as a solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria about 25 years ago and I do also have a double-barreled Master’s degree in Public Administration and in International History and Diplomacy.

Why do you always speak ‘big grammar’?

I am not really consensus ad idem with those who opine that my idiolect is advertently obfuscative. No no no, it’s just that I am in my elements when the colloquy has to do with the pax nigeriana of our dreams and one necessarily needs to fulminate against the alcibiadian modus vivendi of our prebendal political class.

How do you talk to your wife, children and even your friends?

I relate with my family and friends very warmly and in an atmosphere of camaraderie, stripped of my confutational habiliment and gladiatorial homilies. I am a very peaceful, calm, level-headed and celestially attuned soul personality.

Is this the way you proposed to your wife, speaking high tech grammar?

Of course, the business of the day when I interfaced with my wife on matters of the heart had to be in plain Caeser’s language and you can decipher why that had to be so. The matter in view did not permit itself of sphinxian conundrum.

It’s a long time ago, so I can’t remember the exact words I used. We had a relationship for ten years before we got married. We’re looking at close to 20 years ago.

How does your family understand your English?

My family and friends understand me perfectly just the same way you understand me now though, I must admit that it depends on the issues on the piazza.

Is this the way you were speaking in your school days?

I’m sure if you confer with my school mates they will tell you that I no longer speak what those who just know me now call “grammar.” I could speak for about twenty minutes when I was in the university and you won’t understand one word of what I said. I must say I have deteriorated in my grammatical construct.

How did you start speaking in this manner?

It all happened when my father brought me a teaser which stated that good orators had ruled the world and you must have to be a feisty orator if you must rule the world. As an impressionable young man, I alacritously threw myself into the whirligig of improving my usage of words by amassing new words on a daily basis.

Did you write exams in school with these big words?

I used such words very-very freely in my exams both at the secondary school and in my university and little wonder I had the misfortune of my English results being seized intermittently in my O’ Levels.

WAEC released my results for the other subjects and withheld my English result. This happened for about three years. Twice, I passed the University Matriculation Examination but I could not proceed to the University because of my English results that were not released. At the end of the day, it was released after the third attempt.

Didn't you have problems with your teachers?

It no doubt gave me serious issues at the university and that is because some, if not most of my lecturers, ran away with the erroneous impression that my attitudinal predilection had a deprecable tinge of academic braggadocio and intellectual megalomania. But this assumption was both mendacious and a fallacious ad hominem. I could not but take solace in that Latin apothegm which states that O Tempora! O Mores.

Was English your best subject?

My best subject in secondary school was government and religion and am sure that I was drawn to religion because, I now know as a student of Rosicrucian mysticism, that I was a student of divine light in my last incarnation. As for government, I just fell in love with the subject due to my early attraction in life to issues of political-economy.

So what did you score in English language?

English language was of course my hobbyhorse and passion but like I earlier asseverated, my results were constantly guillotined to my utter chagrin that I had to lapse into a jeremiad of lachrymoseim for a period of aeon. I would need to check the result again to be sure of my score.

Do you pray the same way you speak?

God understands all languages, my brother and I pray to God using any word that pops up. May I posit that the key points in prayers are your sincerity, purity of heart, walking within the compass and to what extent are you ready and worthy of receiving the benediction of the cosmic and the cosmic masters because as we say in mysticism- “when the students are ready, the masters would appear.”

Take my words my brother that more than seventy per cent of humanity don’t know how to pray but that is a matter for another day.

By the way, are there other names you call God?

God is variously known as Jehovah, Yaweh, The Great Grand Architect of the Universe, The Cosmic Host and several other names known alone to heirophants but which names are so ineffable for me to mention here.

Do you know that many people don’t take you too seriously when you talk because they think you are not communicating?

Why will I be perturbed from ensconcing myself in the palatable arms of Morpheus because people have deprived themselves of the cultivation of the regime of the mental magnitude? I read all the farrago of baloneys and vacuous bunkum from pepper soup objurgators. The spirit of animadversion remains their fundamental human right. It also remains an indubitable fact that I get millions and millions of requests daily from people all over the world requesting for my verbal mentorship which positive cosmopolitan reactions have assisted my equipoise and righteous sense of pachydermatous garb. I cannot put my nose to the grindstone daily and expect to be understood by those luxuriating in a modus vivendi, verging on pepper souping, goat heading, suyaing, big stouting and isiewulising. Has a philosophical wag not once pontificated that things of the spirit are spiritually discerned and that it takes the deep to call the deep? We will speak more on this matter of critiques and chichi dodo another day.

You were there when a teacher in your state couldn't pronounce ‘solemnly’, how did you feel?

I was indeed sad that a teacher in Edo State could not pronounce a simple word as ‘solemn’. That was certainly one of my low moments in the service of Edo State but the eulogies must go to Comrade Adams Oshiomhole who put in place the infrastructure that made it possible to detect such an egregious ambience and this government would stop at nothing in cleansing the Augean stables.

Have you ever considered organizing English classes in Edo State?

I would have loved to organize English classes, my brother, but you will agree with me that I am sufficiently busy just now.

Why do you pull your trousers up beyond the waist?

Hahahaha….That trousers style is called Yohji Yamamoto. It was my own audacious statement to remonstrate against the pervasive tendency of Nigerians especially our youths that took to the practice of putting on trousers exposing their lower anatomical contours and I will do it over and over again.

When you speak to Caucasians of English origin, how do they react to you?

My friends that are whites simply marvel and sometimes get maniacally bewildered when we engage, most times to my consternation.

Do you think that you understand English language better than the owners of the language?

I have never had the ambition to know the English language more than the owners. However, I must mention that they are shocked most times to find out several words from me they never heard of that existed in the dictionary. Yet, those words are supposed to be theirs. Na so we see am.

Have you ever met with the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka? And what’s your opinion of him?

Professor Wole Soyinka is an international personality. It’s either you have met him personally or by reputation. He is a great man and I enjoy reading him anytime, any day.

Can you ever be caught speaking what many would consider as normal English?

I speak in plain Ceasers language or what you call the normal language and let me tell you that I will hold my own even in pidgin conversation. No just try me at all at all o.

What is your take on the ongoing crisis in the PDP?

The crisis in PDP? All I can say is that I join some people to dey laugh o and he be like say my laugh go tay well well o.

Are you likely to contest for a political office?

I am still in politics, serving the good and amiable people of Edo State. Being the Chief of Staff to the comrade governor is in itself an art of daily political engineering.

Do you look forward to developing your own dictionary?

My own dictionary? I have never really given that a thought, but there is a young man in one of our universities who travelled all the way to meet me in Benin. His doctoral thesis is on “Obahiagbonism as a style of language.”

How many dictionaries do you read a day and how often do you read dictionaries?

I have read and still do read a vaudeville of dictionaries from Websters to Funk and Wagnalls, from Cambridge to Oxford dictionaries, from Black’s Law Dictionary to Encarta and from Encyclopedia Britannica to Foreignisms, etcetera. I developed my corpus of vocabulary by reading omnivorously. I have also spent nothing less than an hour daily on my dictionary for over twenty years. So, whereas the dictionary for most people is a mere occasional reference point, it is for, me a vade-mecum. It may also interest you to know that there is much to learn from our daily newspapers.

You seem to mix English with other languages…

On mixing of languages; that comes with reading omnivorously. You cannot but pick these words here and there if you have an audacious reading culture.

Is any of your children like you?

My children are still growing but I petition the celestial choir and cosmic hosts to give them the gift of kissing the hybla bee.

What is your favourite quote?

One of my favorite quotes is from the sapiential mind of the late Ikene philosopher, Papa Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo, when he was quoted as saying that, “the greatest glory is not in never falling but to rise up after a fall.”

Are you planning to contest in 2015?

I always feel flattered and smile with delight when I hear positive commentary on my tenure at the National Assembly and the wish of Nigerians to see me back at the National Assembly. I am humbled but as a student of mysticism, nothing happens in my life by accident. I am a robot in the hands of God and from that point of view therefore, 2015 would take care of itself. All my efforts just now my brother is geared towards complementing the efforts of the comrade governor in the total transmogrification of Edo State which is enough to chew at the moment. Let me however use this opportunity of your question to appreciate my numerous admirers all over the world.

How are you coping with the Governor of Edo State, knowing that the two of you have strong personalities?

When two or more personages are united only by the bonds of rendering service, that in itself becomes an agglutinating fragrance. In any case, I am very clear that Comrade Oshio Baba is the Governor of Edo State and I am his privileged Chief of Staff. So we are working together very harmoniously and in an ambience of conviviality in our unstoppable desire in taking Edo State to the next level.

P.S...I am presently laughing my lungs out! hahahahahahaha

Culled from Saturday Punch Nigeria...

xoxo

Simply Cheska...

Special Interview: I had a vision my marriage would crash –Ara...

Ara...

Hello Friends!

Drummer girl, Ara, tells Ademola Olonilua about her career, relationship and life as a single mother

Before your hit song with Tuface, you were quiet on the entertainment scene, what have you been up to lately?

I was taking time out to heal from my broken marriage. I have since released another video, Yanke. I also just recently produced my first movie, Osunfunke.

Are you now healed from the trauma of your failed marriage?

I am healed.

Are you in any relationship at the moment?

Yes. I won’t give a name. I really I don’t want to talk about him.

Why did you go into movies?

My mission is to promote the culture and tourism of the different states in Nigeria through my movies. The Osun State was the first state we signed with. I am an icon and my brand is associated with culture. I have a voice and face that is recognised and respected. I have represented Nigeria internationally at different levels and made Nigeria proud. All I am asking is for like minds like me to work with me. I also urge people who have passion for their culture and for sponsors to also come on board.

Are you leaving music for movies then?

No, I am not leaving music. I am combining both of them.

Why did you start with movie production, one would have thought you would begin with acting first?

I also acted in the movie. I played the lead female in the movie I just produced. The lead actor is Ricardo Agbor. I did some stage plays back in school too.

How was your experience as a movie producer?

It was hectic but very interesting. I love it. The challenges were not so many because I was prepared. The most difficult aspect was getting funds for the project but after that, it wasn’t much of a challenge. I had it all planned out.

Are you still as good with the drum as you were when you were younger?

Yes. I am still exceptionally good with my talking drum. The older the wine, the better it tastes.

How come you no longer wear your long braids trademark?

I don’t carry it as often as I used to but my clients have to pay specifically for it. The price depends on who is talking to us. I also had to cut my hair because it started breaking off. After braiding continuously for over 12 years, the hair started rebelling.

One would have thought you would have launched your child’s acting career with your new movie?

There was really no role as such for him.

Is he showing signs of going into entertainment?

He is showing signs already. He has ear for beats but he is not a good dancer. He loves singing. He loves drums; especially set drums and talking drum. He is five years old. He can’t play the talking drum very well yet.

How do you juggle your music career which is mostly stage performance with movie production and motherhood?

Trust me it is not easy but I am dedicated and focused. I spend quality time with my son so when I have to travel or leave home, he understands and we keep in touch on phone over 20 times a day. My mother and elder sister also help me a lot. He also has a nanny.

What other projects are you involved in at the moment?

I have a talk show “Ara Special” and that’s the latest from me. We are shooting the pilot edition shortly.

Did you always want to be a singer?

A singer was what I wanted to be. Well, I would have been working in the house of God. I would have been a prophetess.

Why a prophetess, do you see visions?

Yes.

Don’t you think you would have done better then as a prophetess giving the fact that pastors now own private jets?

You are looking at the financial gains, I am not. I never did.

Did you see a vision that your marriage would break-up?

I saw it.

Has your vision helped you in your career?

Yes it has. It has also helped people around me too.

Can you share some testimonies?

I wouldn't want to. They are personal.

Culled from Saturday Punch Nigeria...

xoxo

Simply Cheska...

Don’t bottle up your emotions – it’ll knock years off your life and raise cancer risk by 70 percent...

Those who bottle up their feelings are at least a third more likely to die young than people who regularly express what they are thinking...

Hello Friends!

Keeping a lid on your emotions has long been thought to be bad for mental and physical health.

Now it seems it could actually knock years off your life.

The latest research shows that those who bottle up their feelings are at least a third more likely to die young than people who regularly express what they are thinking.

A study in the US by experts at Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Rochester shows that the risk of premature death from all causes increases by about 35 per cent among those who fail to say how they feel.

But when the researchers looked at specific causes of death they discovered that the risks increased by 47 per cent for heart disease and 70 per cent for cancer.

The findings, published online in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, suggest that the consequences of bottling up emotions are even more serious than previously thought.

Researchers studied 796 men and women, with an average age of 44, who signed up to a health survey in 1996.

Part of the survey involved questions designed to assess how much the participants suppressed their emotions.

This involved agreeing or disagreeing, on a scale of one to five, with statements such as ‘When I’m angry I let people know’ or ‘I try to be pleasant so that others won’t get upset’. 

The survey was repeated 12 years later, during which time 111 subjects had died – mostly from heart disease or cancer.

When researchers analysed the emotion scores, they found that death rates were highest among those most likely to bottle up their anger rather than let people know what they were thinking.

It is not clear exactly how suppressed emotions cause premature death.

One theory is that people turn to alcohol, cigarettes or junk food to help them cope with their hidden feelings.

Another is that the stress of keeping the lid on negative thoughts disrupts the hormone balance in the body, raising the risk of diseases linked with cellular damage, such as heart complaints and cancer.

The researchers stressed that the number of deaths in the study was small and that further investigations are needed.

‘These findings reveal significant associations between higher levels of emotional suppression and mortality,’ they reported.

Fifty Shades of Grey: All You Need To Know About Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson...

Charlie Hunnam...

Hello Friends!

After toying with our hearts for months casting for the long awaited Fifty Shades of Grey movie has been revealed.

It was starting to seem as if the speculation would never end, but finally the identities of Fifty Shades of Grey's Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey have been revealed.

Dakota Johnson will play Ana in the big screen adaptation of EL James's popular and controversial debut novel when it hits screens in the US on August 1, 2014.

Meanwhile, the author confirmed that Pacific Rim star Charlie Hunnam will take on the role of Christian, despite speculation that the likes of Ian Somerhalder and Alex Pettyfer would be joining the project.

Following today's (September 2) announcement, Digital Spy offers up ten facts you need to know about the stars.

1. Dakota Mayi Johnson was born on October 4, 1989 in Austin, Texas. She is the daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith. She won her first acting role in Crazy in Alabama in 1999, where she played the on-screen daughter of Griffith. She starred alongside her half-sister, Stella Banderas, and was directed by her stepfather, Antonio Banderas.

2. Charles Matthew Hunnam, known as Charlie Hunnam, is a British actor born in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne on April 10, 1980. He is nine and a half years Johnson's senior. He moved to the Lake District aged 12, after his parents divorced.

3. Johnson starred in The Social Network in 2010 and appeared as a one-night stand of Justin Timberlake's character Sean Parker. Director David Fincher described her as "wonderful" despite playing a "thankless role", and she appears in only one scene.

4. Hunnam appeared in a 1998 episode of CBBC's Byker Grove as Jason Chuckle. He had his first major role on Channel 4's hit series Queer as Folk, where he played gay teenager Nathan Maloney opposite Aidan Gillen and Craig Kelly.

5. Johnson was named Miss Golden Globe in 2006, an accolade previously held by her mother Melanie Griffith in 1975.

6. Hunnam married ex-wife Katharine Towne weeks after meeting her at an audition for Dawson's Creek. They were married for three years between 1999 and 2002 before divorcing. They had no children together. The 33-year-old has been in a relationship with jewelry designer Morgana McNelis since 2007.

Dakota Johnson..

7. Johnson recently appeared in Fox's short-lived sitcom Ben and Kate. She starred opposite Nat Faxon in the series, which was canceled after only one season due to poor ratings.

8. Hunnam has enjoyed a more successful TV career than his new co-star, appearing in the lead role in FX's Sons of Anarchy since 2008. The show's sixth season premieres later this month in the US.

9. The Anastasia Steele actress has also worked as a fashion model and was signed to IMG Models in 2006. She fronted a campaign for MANGO Jeans in 2009 and graced the cover of Teen Vogue, aged 12, with other children of celebrities.

10. As well as acting, Hunnam also wrote the screenplay for Vlad, a film about the real-life inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. The film is to be produced by Brad Pitt's Plan B and Summit Entertainment but is currently listed as a future project. In December 2009, Hunnam said he could envision someone like Christian Bale or Colin Farrell in the title role.

Via DigitalSpy...

Culled from Cosmopolitan...

xoxo

Simply Cheska...

"Bomerettes" Call Fifty Shades Casting Directors Homophobic...

Hello Friends!

If a fan base more fiery and vocal than Beliebers, Swifties, and Directioners exists, the world learned this week it's the Shadesers. This group of people is so passionate about the film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey that they are taking to the internet to voice their displeasure over the choice of Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson as leads, cast for the roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. Fans who had hoped gay actor Matt Bomer would get the role instead of Humman are accusing the film's casting directors of homophobia.

Barbara Paz Osorio Navarro, a 19-year-old from Chile, is one such Shadeser. Her Change.org petition calling for the lead roles to be recast received more than 20,000 signatures over the course of a day, and now has close to 50,000. It reads: "Matt Bomer is the PERFECT DESCRIPTION OF CHRISTIAN GREY AND ALEXIS BLEDEL IS THE PERFECT ACTRESS TO REPRESENT ANASTASIA STEELE and if THEY ARE NOT, NOBODY WILL BE And I read the whole trilogy and I can assure that Matt is the perfect actor for this movie and Alexis too. So please PLEASE, all of the GREYsessed and Bomerettes in the world NEED those actors. They always will be for us the Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. WE CAN DO ANYTHING GUYS, ANYTHING."

"I think Matt has been rejected because of his sexuality," Navarro, who calls herself a "Bomerette," told Cosmopolitan.com in an email. "It's 2013 and I find it really amazing that a person can be discriminated against for being gay. Talent is what matters. If [his not being cast] is not discrimination, then I don't know what to call it."

Dakota Johnson...

Navarro believes die-hard fans upset with the casting won't see the film if a change from Hunnam to Bomer is not made. "I hope that [the film's casting directors] open their eyes and realize the great discontent among fans," she said. "We are not happy with this. Many people believe that our main objective is to verbally attack or insult the actors that were chosen. That's not true. We want our voice heard. That's it all."

While Navarro's movement seems to be the only one of its kind (so far), like-minded ladies have taken to Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram since casting was announced to promote the #Bomerette hashtag and proclaim their belief that Bomer is the ideal choice to play Christian Gray.

But while the Bomerettes' campaign will likely do little to change the actual casting of the film, the concern that Bomer was overlooked—or even discrimnated against—isn't completely unfounded. Bomer's sexuality, as it pertains to Fifty Shades, made headlines in August, when Less than Zero author Bret Easton Ellis—who was once in the running to write the screenplay for the much-aniticiapted film—proclaimed via Twitter that the actor was completely wrong for the part.

Charlie Hunnam...

"Casting Matt Bomer is the equivalent as casting Jesse Tyler Ferguson..." he wrote in response to a fan hoping Bomer would be cast as Grey. "Matt Bomer isn't right for Christian Grey because he is openly gay. He's great for other roles but this is too big a game." (It seems like Ellis hasn't read a recent study showing that audiences by and large accept openly gay men when they play straight roles.)

But after casting was announced, Ellis again took to Twitter, explaining that Bomer was never even considered for the role: "Talked to E.L. James at a party over the summer: her first choice for Christian was Rob Pattinson and Matt Bomer was never in the running."

Was Bomer not a contender because of his sexuality? We will probably never know. So far, the Bomerettes and their accusations that Fifty Shades' casting was tinged with homophobia have yet to be addressed by the team at Focus Features, which is producing the film. But given the litany of roles straight and gay men have played that were off-orientation, if you will, like Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain, Sean Hayes playing it straight in the Broadway hit Promises, Promises , and even Cate Blanchette playing Bob Dylan in I'm Not There, the accusation that Fifty Shades' casting was outright homophobic seems like a stretch. Or, at least, one can hope.

As for Bomer himself, he says he's "touched" by the Bomerettes' support. He told EOnline.com that he's "so grateful for the fans" and is "looking forward to seeing the movie with Charlie and Dakota."

Culled from Cosmopolitan...

xoxo

Simply Cheska..

'My gastric bypass almost killed me': Woman, 25, plummets to FOUR STONE after surgery damages her stomach...

Beth Birch, 25, lost 27 stone after gastric bypass surgery. She dropped from 31 stone to 4st 3lbs. She is pictured (left) three months after the surgery and (right) eighteen months after the operation. She was told that she would die unless she gained weight...

Hello Friends!

A morbidly obese woman came close to death when a gastric bypass caused her to lose a massive 27 stone.

Beth Birch reached 31 stone by the age of 19 but after the operation her weight plunged to a life-threatening four stone.

Ms Birch underwent the gastric bypass surgery after claiming her leg had snapped in nine places under her extreme weight, leaving her confined to a wheelchair.

She hoped the surgery would help her to achieve her dream body but within weeks of the operation was losing weight dangerously fast.

Sixteen months later she was down to a skeletal 4st 3lbs and doctors told her she could die unless she started regaining weight.

Ms Birch was rushed to the Spire Murrayfield Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside, where specialists found her gut wall had stopped working so she could not absorb food.

She was put on a 15,000 calorie-a-day cocktail of medicines and drinks - plus six meals a day - to build up and defend her gut wall.

Her weight slowly climbed up to healthy 11 stone, but doctors warned her that because of her rapid change in weight she would probably never be able to have children.

However, Ms Birch became pregnant last year, and gave birth to daughter Violet 12 weeks ago.

By the time Ms Birch (pictured in her teens) was 19-years-old she weighed 31 stone. She believes that her weight gain was caused by polycystic ovary syndrome...

Ms Birch (pictured before her surgery when she weighed 31 stone) hoped that the operation would help her to achieve her dream body...

She now weighs a healthy 12st 4lbs and can eat normally.

Ms Birch, 25, of Manchester, said: ‘People said I looked like a corpse - in fact one person said he had seen a corpse look better.

‘I was lying on my mum’s settee and I couldn’t even lift me head up.

‘I was trying to eat but I wasn’t able to swallow and when I could my body just couldn’t absorb it.

‘My body was shutting down and I was so weak. I was wearing clothes for a ten to 11-year-old girl.

‘The doctors said to my parents he didn’t think I would be able to come through it and to prepare for all eventualities.’

Paedophile P.E. teacher, 31, had sex with 14-year-old pupil in school during 18 months of abuse...

School cricket coach Glyn Thompson, 31, was jailed for eight years today after admitting having an affair with a 14-year-old...

Hello Friends!

A school cricket coach who had an 18-month affair with a teenage girl was jailed for eight years today.

Glyn Thompson, 31, had sex with 14-year-old on his desk at the school where he worked, in his car and at both her family home and the family home he shared with the mother of his young son.

The father of one from Burnley, Lancashire, taught at the town's Stoneyholme Community Primary School.

During the affair he bought a pregnancy test for the teenager to ensure she was not carrying his baby.

The scandal was exposed when the girl confessed to a friend in an internet chatroom and the friend sent an anonymous letter to the school.

Thompson was later suspended and then sacked from his teaching job.

At Preston Crown Court Thompson, whose partner was also a teacher at the school, pleaded guilty to nine counts of sexual activity with a child.

The illicit relationship began after Thompson met the girl when she was 13 and the pair began swapping 'flirty' emails.

Sylvia Dacre, prosecuting, said Thompson began to groom the girl, adding: 'He asked her for pictures of herself, which she provided.'

She said he began asking her for pictures in which she was pulling down her t-shirt to reveal her chest, and added: 'This gradually progressed to her providing naked pictures.

'He sent one back to her.

'He began taking her to a room at the school, where he physically abused her. He began to touch her all round and began to kiss her on the mouth.'

'She felt pressured and scared. If she tried to refuse he would repeatedly ask her until he got what he wanted.'

Chilling moment sex attacker who told his victim he was taking her to a Saturdays concert wheeled her unconscious body into hotel where he raped her for nine hours...

Depraved attack: Phillips, from Southampton, had told his victim they were going to a Saturdays concert...

Hello Friends!

A businessman who told a woman he was taking her to a Saturdays concert instead drugged her, put her in a wheelchair and pushed her a hotel where he raped her for nine hours.

Lloyd Phillips, 48, plied his 22-year-old victim with a cocktail of drugs and alcohol that left her suffering seizures as he drove her to Wembley Stadium.

This picture shows the moment he pushed his victim into a hotel where he told staff his 'girlfriend' was drunk and disabled before taking her to a room and assaulting her.

Moment the abuse began: Lloyd Phillips, 48, drugged the 22-year-old and put her into a wheelchair before raping her at a hotel near Wembley Stadium - he is now beginning an 11-year jail term...

Phillips owned a luxury Sun seeker boat, which he bought with the £10,000-a-week takings from his legal-high and gig ticket shop.

He was well-known on the social scene in his home city of Southampton, where he impressed women with his spending and lavish lifestyle.

But he has now been jailed for 11 years for his depraved attack, which left his victim suffering nightmares and feeling 'sick'.

The court heard he picked her up from her home, and gave her a capsule and a can of the high-alcohol 'Crunk' juice to wash it down.

The drug was found to be controlled substance BZP, a stimulant that can trigger epileptic seizures and fits.

It had such an effect on the woman that she was left with little memory of the car journey to the hotel near London's Wembley Stadium.

Footage from a CCTV camera shows him pushing the woman into the hotel, as she slumps forward in the chair, with his bag resting on her legs.

He is then seen wheeling her towards a lift and their room, where he carried out the catalogue of abuse throughout the night.

The woman, who had once regarded Phillips as a friend, lay motionless on the bed, unaware of the sickening attack, Harrow Crown Court heard.

Aside from a brief memory of a clock that read '3.48' and a feeling that she was 'contorted', the woman had no memory of what happened.

She woke confused, with Phillips telling her they had engaged in a night of consensual sex, the jury heard.

It was some 24 hours later that the effects of the drug began to wear off and the full, horrifying impact of what had happened to her started to emerge.

Feeling ill, unable to use the lavatory, and with her tongue and her arms bruised, she went to hospital where doctors called police.

Phillips was convicted of two counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault.

He was acquitted of one charge of supplying drugs with intent.

Supt Stuart Murray, from Hampshire Constabulary, described Phillips as a sexual predator who is likely to have raped many more women.

Speaking outside court, he said: 'This was a despicable and premeditated assault on a young woman who thought Phillips was her friend and who trusted him.

It is clear that Phillips intended to rape his victim and this was a cruel and cynical abuse of her trust.

Rapist is told he could have contracted HIV from his victim as he is jailed for five years...

May have HIV: Richard Thomas will not find out until later this week if he is infected with the virus as a direct result of a sex attack he carried out on a woman...

Hello Friends!

A rapist who was put behind bars today faces an agonising wait to find out if he has caught HIV from his victim.

Richard Thomas, 27, collapsed when police informed him about the woman's medical status and is still waiting to hear if he has contracted the incurable virus.
Thomas, of Leigh in Greater Manchester, knew the woman and was aware that she has another illness but had not known about the HIV. The court heard he was shocked when he was told and asked to be taken to hospital, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

He had let himself into her home in the middle of the night and she awoke to find him raping her.

'She froze and no words were exchanged. He pulled up his shorts and left,' said Harry Pepper, prosecuting.

'He was arrested and interviewed and said he had been drinking heavily, taken cocaine and ecstasy and could not recall the incident,' he added.
His barrister, Virginia Hayton, said that he still cannot recall the attack but when told about it he said that the woman 'would not lie, she tells the truth. If she says I have done it, I have done it'.

Jailing Thomas for five years and four months Judge Mark Brown said that he had committed 'this dreadful offence' while she lay asleep, having taken a sleeping tablet, and it had left her distressed and anxious.

He also ordered him to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life. Thomas pleaded guilty to raping the woman on July 20 this year.

Miss Hayton said that Thomas, who has previous convictions but none for sexual offences, is 'remorseful' and 'cannot understand why he did it and it is troubling him'.

Torment: A rapist recently jailed at Liverpool Crown Court will have to wait until Friday to find out if he has caught HIV from his victim..

She said that he started using cannabis at the age of nine, drinking heavily at the age of 11, became addicted to ecstasy and cocaine at 13 and was put in care the following year.

He has been trying to contact his family but they want nothing to do with him and he will now be away from his partner and their young daughter and his two other older daughters from previous relationships.
Miss Hayton told the court that Thomas will not find out the result of his HIV test until Friday and has had the worry of the outcome hanging over him.

'It is his own fault, if he had not committed this offence he would not have placed himself in this position.'

Culled from The Daily Mail UK...

xoxo

Simply Cheska...

50 Shades of Grey stars revealed! Dakota Johnson and Charlie Hunnam land lead roles in kinky movie...

Show it off: Charlie Hunnam has starred on FX's Sons Of Anarchy since 2008...

Hello Friends!

After months of speculation and hand-wringing from fans, the search for the Fifty Shades Of Grey leads is over.

Dakota Johnson and Charlie Hunnam will take on the roles of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, respectively, in the anticipated big-screen adaptation of the sexy novel.
The news was tweeted by novel author E.L. James on Monday morning: 'Good moaning all. Hold on to your hats...' she wrote shortly before making the announcements.

 

Finally: Dakota Johnson, seen here at the 12th annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in New York City on June 8, was announced as Anastasia Steele on Monday...

Dakota, 23, previously appeared in The Social Network - in which she shared a love scene with Justin Timberlake - and had small roles in 21 Jump Street, The Five-Year Engagement and Beastly.

She is the daughter of Don Johnson, best known for TV shows Miami Vice and Nash Bridges, and his actress ex-wife Melanie Griffith.

It's thought producers cast Dakota because they wanted a young, up-and-coming actress to play the role of virginal Anastasia, who embarks on an intense voyage of sexual discovery with her S&M-loving boss Christian.

 

Family tree: Dakota stands with mum Melanie Griffith at the 63rd annual Golden Globe Awards, held in Beverly Hills, California in January 2006...

Charlie, who is 33 years old and British, stars in the dark biker thriller Sons Of Anarchy as Jackson 'Jax' Teller and also appeared in Guillermo del Toro's robot epic Pacific Rim.
He gained fame on the UK drama Queer As Folk, on which he played gay teenager Nathan Maloney; the show ran from 1999-2000 and was remade for American audiences by Showtime (under the same title).

The castings close waves of rumours about who would take on the roles - Emma Watson, Imogen Poots, Armie Hammer and Ian Somerhalder, among many others, were at one time tied to a main role on the film.

Producer Michael De Luca tweeted on Monday that Dakota and Charlie showed great promise when they auditioned for the roles together: 'Auditions were stunning, incredible chemistry!' he wrote.

The duo had to do a 'chemistry read,' meaning a scene on video, and Charlie also had several tests with various actresses; he seemingly wanted to know who his co-star was before committing to the project, according to The Wrap.

 

Charlie Hunnam...

 

 

Author Bret Easton Ellis, meanwhile, claims that Robert Pattinson was E.L. James' first choice for the lead role.

He tweeted Monday about an exchange he had with the writer at a party earlier in the summer.
'E.L. James and I were at Rob Pattinson's house when she admitted that Rob was first choice for Christian,' Ellis said on Twitter.